Exploratory Mapping of Blue Ice Regions in Antarctica Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data
Mapping spatiotemporal changes in the distribution of blue ice regions (BIRs) in Antarctica requires repeated, precise, and high-resolution baseline maps of the blue ice extent. This study demonstrated the design and application of a newly-developed semi-automatic method to map BIRs in the Antarctic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/5/1287 |
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| author | Shridhar D. Jawak Alvarinho J. Luis Prashant H. Pandit Sagar F. Wankhede Peter Convey Peter T. Fretwell |
| author_facet | Shridhar D. Jawak Alvarinho J. Luis Prashant H. Pandit Sagar F. Wankhede Peter Convey Peter T. Fretwell |
| author_sort | Shridhar D. Jawak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mapping spatiotemporal changes in the distribution of blue ice regions (BIRs) in Antarctica requires repeated, precise, and high-resolution baseline maps of the blue ice extent. This study demonstrated the design and application of a newly-developed semi-automatic method to map BIRs in the Antarctic environment using very high-resolution (VHR) WorldView-2 (WV-2) satellite images. We discussed the potential of VHR satellite data for the mapping of BIRs in the Antarctic environment using a customized normalized-difference blue-ice index (NDBI) method devised using yellow, green, and near-infrared spectral bands of WV-2 data. We compared the viability of the newly developed customized NDBI approach against state-of-the-art target detection (TD), spectral processing (SP) and pixel-wise supervised (PSC) feature extraction (FE) approaches. Four semi-automatic FE approaches (three existing plus one newly developed) consisting of 16 standalone FE methods (12 existing + four customized) were evaluated using an extensive quantitative and comparative assessment for mapping BIRs in the vicinity of Schirmacher Oasis, on the continental Antarctic coastline. The results suggested that the customized NDBI approach gave a superior performance and the highest statistical stability when compared with existing FE techniques. The customized NDBI generally rendered the lowest level of misclassification (average RMSE = 654.48 ± 58.26 m<sup>2</sup>), followed by TD (average RMSE = 987.81 ± 55.05 m<sup>2</sup>), SP (average RMSE = 1327.09 ± 127.83 m<sup>2</sup>) and PSC (average RMSE = 2259.43 ± 115.36 m<sup>2</sup>) for mapping BIRs. Our results indicated that the use of the customized NDBI approach can greatly improve the semi-automatic mapping of BIRs in the Antarctic environment. This study presents the first refined map of distribution of BIRs around the Schirmacher Oasis. The total area of blue ice in the study area was estimated to be 106.875 km<sup>2</sup>, approximately 61% of the study area. The WV-2 derived BIR map area presented in this study locally refined the existing BIR map derived using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) dataset by ~31% (~33.40 km<sup>2</sup>). Finally, we discussed the practical challenges and future directions in mapping BIRs across Antarctica. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:12:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8435fa0386474c46bf0d020632854777 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:12:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-8435fa0386474c46bf0d0206328547772023-11-17T08:31:00ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922023-02-01155128710.3390/rs15051287Exploratory Mapping of Blue Ice Regions in Antarctica Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing DataShridhar D. Jawak0Alvarinho J. Luis1Prashant H. Pandit2Sagar F. Wankhede3Peter Convey4Peter T. Fretwell5Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS), SIOS Knowledge Centre, Svalbard Science Centre, P.O. Box 156, N-9171 Longyearbyen, Svalbard, NorwayPolar Remote Sensing Section, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Headland Sada, Vasco da Gama 403804, Goa, IndiaFaculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7514 AE Enschede, The NetherlandsDepartment of Civil Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, IndiaBritish Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UKBritish Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UKMapping spatiotemporal changes in the distribution of blue ice regions (BIRs) in Antarctica requires repeated, precise, and high-resolution baseline maps of the blue ice extent. This study demonstrated the design and application of a newly-developed semi-automatic method to map BIRs in the Antarctic environment using very high-resolution (VHR) WorldView-2 (WV-2) satellite images. We discussed the potential of VHR satellite data for the mapping of BIRs in the Antarctic environment using a customized normalized-difference blue-ice index (NDBI) method devised using yellow, green, and near-infrared spectral bands of WV-2 data. We compared the viability of the newly developed customized NDBI approach against state-of-the-art target detection (TD), spectral processing (SP) and pixel-wise supervised (PSC) feature extraction (FE) approaches. Four semi-automatic FE approaches (three existing plus one newly developed) consisting of 16 standalone FE methods (12 existing + four customized) were evaluated using an extensive quantitative and comparative assessment for mapping BIRs in the vicinity of Schirmacher Oasis, on the continental Antarctic coastline. The results suggested that the customized NDBI approach gave a superior performance and the highest statistical stability when compared with existing FE techniques. The customized NDBI generally rendered the lowest level of misclassification (average RMSE = 654.48 ± 58.26 m<sup>2</sup>), followed by TD (average RMSE = 987.81 ± 55.05 m<sup>2</sup>), SP (average RMSE = 1327.09 ± 127.83 m<sup>2</sup>) and PSC (average RMSE = 2259.43 ± 115.36 m<sup>2</sup>) for mapping BIRs. Our results indicated that the use of the customized NDBI approach can greatly improve the semi-automatic mapping of BIRs in the Antarctic environment. This study presents the first refined map of distribution of BIRs around the Schirmacher Oasis. The total area of blue ice in the study area was estimated to be 106.875 km<sup>2</sup>, approximately 61% of the study area. The WV-2 derived BIR map area presented in this study locally refined the existing BIR map derived using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based mosaic of Antarctica (MOA) dataset by ~31% (~33.40 km<sup>2</sup>). Finally, we discussed the practical challenges and future directions in mapping BIRs across Antarctica.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/5/1287semi-automated classificationblue iceWorldView-2Antarcticanormalized spectral index ratiovery high-resolution remote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Shridhar D. Jawak Alvarinho J. Luis Prashant H. Pandit Sagar F. Wankhede Peter Convey Peter T. Fretwell Exploratory Mapping of Blue Ice Regions in Antarctica Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data Remote Sensing semi-automated classification blue ice WorldView-2 Antarctica normalized spectral index ratio very high-resolution remote sensing |
| title | Exploratory Mapping of Blue Ice Regions in Antarctica Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data |
| title_full | Exploratory Mapping of Blue Ice Regions in Antarctica Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data |
| title_fullStr | Exploratory Mapping of Blue Ice Regions in Antarctica Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploratory Mapping of Blue Ice Regions in Antarctica Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data |
| title_short | Exploratory Mapping of Blue Ice Regions in Antarctica Using Very High-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data |
| title_sort | exploratory mapping of blue ice regions in antarctica using very high resolution satellite remote sensing data |
| topic | semi-automated classification blue ice WorldView-2 Antarctica normalized spectral index ratio very high-resolution remote sensing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/5/1287 |
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